Rabbi Akiva and Layala Males

Rabbi Akiva Males grew up in
Cleveland, OH, and received his Jewish education at the Hebrew Academy of
Cleveland, the Wisconsin Institute for Torah Study (W.I.T.S.), and Yeshiva
Chofetz Chaim (Rabbinical Seminary of America) based in Queens, NY -- where he
received his semicha.

From 2007-2016, Rabbi Males and
his wife Layala (nee Feintuch -- of Brooklyn, NY) lived in Harrisburg, PA where
he served as rabbi of Kesher Israel Congregation. Aside from his Shul-based
responsibilities, he also maintained the Harrisburg community Eruv, offered
meaningful Torah study opportunities to diverse audiences, and represented
Orthodoxy to the broader Jewish (and non-Jewish) community. Those -- and many
other -- experiences expanded Rabbi Males’ horizons, deepened his Torah /
Halachic knowledge, and enabled him to better relate to Jews of all backgrounds
and levels of observance.

Rabbi Akiva and Layala Males
relocated to Memphis in the summer of 2016, and they are thrilled to be part of
the Young Israel of Memphis family.

Click Here to see a short video clip of Rabbi Males offering the
opening benediction before the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington,
D.C. on April 23, 2008.

Click Here to see a short video clip of Rabbi Males offering the
opening invocation before the Tennessee Senate in Nashville,
TN on February 13, 2017.